Pages

Okay so that's SORT of a lie since we took the weekend off ... but we had a march to go to, signs to paint, letters to deliver--you know, the stuff you do when you want to make your voice heard. The last week has been an awful lot of work for those of us who like to be involved! We're watching our country go through a historic change--and whether you have optimismfor our new president or not, no one can argue that the country is facing a challenging moment. Last week we started an Inauguration Blitz—not annual, since this only happens once every four to eight years!
Our … once-every-four-to-eight-years Inauguration Blitz, then. And this week we're finishing up, since we had so many authors involved that we couldn't fit them all in. We're focusing
on government, how the country was born, presidential and congressional
behavior and ethics, and—most importantly—the idea of revolution. With that in
mind, we’ve gathered some of our favorite revolutionary characters for some
down-and-dirty answers about their fights, who they’re fighting against, and when they know it's time to stand up and fight for the right side.

This week, we're focusing on some of our newer authors--and their main characters, who are fighting for their right to survive. Up first we have a brand new character from Kimberly Mitchell.

1.So
first, the obvious. Tell us about your world. Where do you live? What’s the
story there?

Water is scarce in my land. The Nas, our ruling class, mostly
live in the City and leave us alone, but when my people, the Abed, started refusing
to allow them access to the wells that have been in our villages for centuries,
things got … bad.

They attacked us. They firebombed our villages. My
brother and I, along with the other children, fled into the desert. My parents
and the other Abed were either killed or rounded up and taken to the City to
live in refugee camps. But we survived in the desert.

After the war, the giftings came. I'm a Dreamer. I dream
of the water hidden in the desert—and it helps us stay alive another day.

2.Got
it. And now, the bad guy. Who are you fighting against? And why?

I'm
fighting for my life. It wasn't enough for the Emperor to win the war. His
soldiers hunt down the Abed children in the desert. If they’re captured, those
children are never heard from again. Even with the giftings, I'm afraid of what
the Emperor will do to my 'family': the other Abed children I've lived with
since the war. We are not safe. No amount of gifting will keep us safe.

But there
are rumors of a hidden city in the desert, a safe place that is for gifted Abed. How could such a
place exist? Is it truly a sanctuary? It seems that it could mean safety for us—badly
needed safety.

But
will we fight to reach it only to find that it, too, is a lie?

3.Do you
think you’re in the midst of a revolution? Are you fighting the system?

I
don't want to start another war, but my people are imprisoned in refugee camp or dying in the desert. I will do anything I can to keep the people I love
alive. If I have to take down the Emperor to keep my family safe, I will.

4.What’s
your goal? What do you hope to see happen?

We want to live in peace on the land that was ours before
the Nas took it from us and put the Abed in refugee camps.

5.Do you
think you’ll succeed?

We have to. We can't stay in the desert any longer, and
the Sickness is spreading in the City, to Nas and Abed alike. Something must
change. The Emperor must see that, too.

6. How do you know you’re doing the right thing? Don’t
you think there are a lot of other people who are probably on the other side of
the line?

It can't be right to force people from their homes,
firebomb their villages, and put them in refugee camps with armed guards, can
it? Don't the Abed have as much right to live as the Nas? The Emperor must be
made to see that. No matter the cost.

6.Final
question. What do you think of being a heroine rather than a hero? Does it matter?
Can a girl be just as revolutionary as a boy?

The Emperor doesn't discriminate between us. Neither will
I. I will do what I can to protect my family. What does my gender have to do
with that? We fight for the people we love. It doesn't matter who we are.

Keep up with Kimberly on her social media to learn more about her books--and her first release!